Metal-screw machine



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

0. F. ROPER.

METAL SGRBW MACHINE.

Patented Aug. 29

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. 0. P. ROPER.

METAL SCREW MACHINE. No. 263,357. Patented Aug. 2 882'.

Ir /er fnr; J %W.

N. PETERS. Phclmlilhvgnphnr. Washington, 0. c

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

G. P. ROPBR.

METAL SCREW MACHINE. i No. 263,357. Patented Aug. 29, 1882.

gin E5555.

N PETERS. Phmvhlhcgraphfl. Wanhingion, D. c.

Units METAL-SCREW MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 263,357, dated August29, 1882.

Application filed February 23, 1882.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. Borne, of Boston, county of Suffolk,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Metal- ScrewMachines, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention in screw-making machines relates to that class of machineswherein a rod is milled or reduced in diameter according to the lengthof the screw, the milled part is threaded, and then the rod is cut offto form a screw.

This my improved machine embodies in its construction a chuck to graspand rotate the rod, means to operate the chuck at the proper times, therod being fed forward through the loosened chuck by its own gravity, atool-carrying carriage reciprocated at right angles to the direction ofthe length of the rod, and a slide-frame to raise and lower the carriageand my invention consists in said mechanisms, combined and cooperatingtogether, as will be hereinafter more fully described at the endv ofthis specification.

Figure 1 represents in side elevation a screwmaking machine embodying myinvention, the carriage and slide being in positions to bring the gagein position to insure the proper length of screw, the dotted linesshowing the camprojections at the rear of the one cam-carrying diskwhich imparts to the carriage, slide, and chuck their movements; Fig. 2,a front view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an inner side view of the cam-carryingdisk. Fig. 4 is a detail showing in full lines the carriage and slideand the parts for moving the slidejust after they have started to rise,with the rod resting on the length-gage, the dotted lines showing thesaid gage and lever and cam in the positions they will occupy when therod has been carried up to its highest position by the length gage. Fig.5 is adiagram showing the milling-tool in position to be operated tomill the rod; Fig. 6, a diagram showing the threading-tool in positionto thread the rod; Fig. 7, a diagram showing the parts in position tocut off the screw-threaded end of the rod; Fig. 8, an enlarged partialsection and front end view of the rotating chuck, and Fig. 9 an enlargeddetail of the length-gage and cutter.

(No model.)

The main or driven shaft A, supported on bearings b b of the frame-workB, has fixed to it the fast pulley (1. which receives the open belt (LThis shaftis hollow, as shown in Fig. 8, to contain the hollow wedge c,which receives the rod 1', to be formed into screws,and at its lower endthis shaft has pivoted to it, at a, the jaws ad, which, operated by thewedge 0, close the chuck a upon the said rod 7'. This chuck is composedof a short sleeve screwthreaded at its rear end and screwed into thehollow shaft A, and split at its forward end to form three or more arms.(See Fig. 8.) The chuck is made conical externally at its outer end, andthe arms receive against them the beveled ends of the jaw-levers a Thejawlevers, at their rear ends, have adjusting devices a controlled byadjusting-screws a. As the wedge c is forced forward, as in Fig. 8, itacts upon the jaw-levers and turns them, so that they act to close thechuck upon the rod 7 and rotate the rod in unison with the rotatingchuck. This wedge, at its rear end, has a collar, 0 which is hereinshown as embraced by the forked end of a lever, 0 pivoted at c, a rolleror stud, 0 being acted upon by the earn 1 to withdraw the wedge and bycam 4 to force the wedge in. Fig. 1 shows the wedge asjust about to belifted, and Fig. 5 as forced down to close the jaws and chuck, as inFig. 8. Upon this hollow shaft A are placed two loose pulleys, d e. Theloose pulley c has con-- nected with it a toothed gear, 6, which engagesa toothed gear, 6 on the shaft 0 provided at its lower end with aright-hand worm, e, which engages the worm-toothed part c of and rotatesthe single cam-disk O in the direction of the arrow on it, Fig. 1, thesaid disk having been made by me to carry all the cams which arerequisite to operate all the parts of the machine, as will behereinafter described, thus enabling me to greatly simplify the machineand its cost, and at the same time secure uniformity of the action ofthe parts. When the shaft A is being rotated by the belt a on the fastpulley, as in Fig. l, and the rod is being rotated in the forwarddirection for work the crossed belt 6 runs on the loose pulley 6. Thesebelts are both controlled by one belt-shipper, c pivoted at c, it havingat its opposite end a roller or stud which is acted upon by the cam 12at the rear side of the disk just after the threading-tool i, to behereinafter described, has cut a thread on the rod 7' so as to move theshipper e from the positions Figs. 1 and 7 to the position Fig. 6,transferring the belt a upon the loose pulley d and the crossed beltpartially on the i'astpulley a which crossed belt then acts to turn theshaft A in an opposite direction, and with it the rod 1', to permit thesaid rod to be backed out of the threading-tool. The crossed belt is notshipped completely from the loose pulley 0, but remains partly on it,and thus the said pulley is kept running, so as to continue the movementof the cam carrying disk 0.

The slide f, fitted in ways f of the framework, and provided with guidesf to receive the tool-carrying carriage g, is connected with one end ofa leveigf, pivoted atf, it having a roller or stud, f which is actedupon by the cams 2, 3, 5, 7, 9,11,13, and 15, as hereinafter described,to impart to the slide f and the parts carried by it their propermovements toward and from the rod 0' in the direction of the length ofthe said rod.

The tool-carrying carriage g, fitted to the guidewaysf of the slide, hasa tool-holding plate or projection, on which are secured themilling-tool h, the threadingtool t7, and the length-gage j, a portionof the latter-also, as herein shown, serving as the cutting-01f de- "icefor the rod. The milling and the threading tools are of usualconstruction, and need not, therefore, be particularly described, morethan to say that the milling-tool, when forced upward upon the rotatingrod r,will inillor turn down the end of the rod, reducing it to thediameter desired for the shank of the screw to be made, and that thethreading'tool will cut a thread of the desired pitch or kind on the rodas the latter is rotated in a forward direction by the straight belt aon the fast pulley a The rear or inner end of the carriage has upon it aroller or stud, (shown in Fig. 2 and in dotted lines in the diagramsFigs. 5 and 6,) which roller or stud is acted upon by cams located atthe rear side of the disk 0, the said cams moving the said carriage outand in at right angles to the movement of the slide f, to thus place themilling or threading tools or the length-gage and rod-cutter in properposition with relation to the end of the rod 1' to perform theirdiii'erent functions in the manufacture of screws from the rod 9, whichrod is placed and held in a position inclined preferably at aboutforty-five degrees from a perpendicular, as shown in the drawings, sothat the rod,\ vhen released by the chuck,may descend easily by gravity.By placing the shaft A in an inclined position, rather than by placingit in vertical position, I am enabled to keep the rod r in such inclinedposition as to make it self-feeding, thus dispensing with the usualfeeding devices for the rod, as would be necessary were the rod kept inhorizontal position;

and I am also enabled tolessen the strain upon the chuck.

The operation'of my machine is as follows:

It will be assumed that the cam 1 has moved the lever 0 to withdraw thewedge c and release the chuck from the rod, and that the rod, by its owngravity, has dropped, as in Fig. 4, and rests at its lower end upon theupper end of the length-gage j, which, when atits lowest point, occupiesa position distant from the end of the chuck greater than the length ofthe screw to be madc,such provision enabling a short piece, or the finalpiece of a rod of less length than the screw 'to be made, to drop out.As the rod r descended upon the length-gage, as described, the chuckbeing open, the slidef was placed in its lowest position by the actionof the cam 2 on the roll 1' of the lever f, as in Fig. 4. In thiscondition, the disk 0 being turned in the direction of the arrows, Figs.1 and 4, the cam 3, shown adjustable in Fig. 1, strikes the rollandlifts the slidef, and with it the carriage and length-gage 7', until thelatter reaches the dotted-line position, Fig. 4, it in that positionhaving lifted the loosely-held rod 7' and moved it backward through thechuck and wedge, leaving thelower end of the rod protruding beyond thechuck for a distance equal to the length of the screw to be made, theadjustment of the cam 3 enabling this length to be more or less. Whenthe rod has been moved into proper position, according to the length ofthe screw to be made, the cam 4 strikes the rollof the lever c and movesthe wedge c to close the rotating chuck on, and so as to carry with itthe rod 1". The cam 5 then acts on the lever f to again draw the slide fdown and the length-gage away from the rod 1', and when down the cam 6,at the rear of the disk 0, (see Fig. 3, and dotted lines, Fig. 1,) actson the roller or stud of the carriage g and draws it back toward thecenter of the disk 0 until the center of the milling-tool h is in linewith the rod 1', when the cam 7 commences to act and gradually moves theleverfand slidefupward upon or about the end ofthe rotating rod, thusmilling or reducing the end of the rod 0' to the proper diameter. Duringthis milling operation the carriage is kept in position byt he cam 8,(see Fig. 3, and also in dotted line in Fig.1,) against which the rolleror stud g of the carriage y then rests. After the rotating rod has beenmilled the cam 9 (see Fig. 1) operates the leverf to lower the slide fand withdraw the milling-tool h from the rod 1'. 'When the slide hasbeen so lowered the cam 10, at the rear side of the disk, forces thecarriage g outward until the center of the threading-tool t' is placedopposite the end of the rotating rod 1', when the slide fis raised bythe action of cam 11, and causes the threading-tool to be forced overand along the rotating rod to thread its milled or reduced part, asusual. Just as the cam 11 produces its full stroke the cam 12, at therear of the disk 0, moves the shipper-lever c and IIS ships the openbelt a from the fast pulley a which change of belt immediately causes areversal of the hollow shaft A and chuck and rod, enabling thescrew-threaded end of the said rod to be withdrawn from thethreadingtool 6 as the cam 13 comes into action on the leverf and drawsthe slidefdown. After the threading-tool has been drawn off the rod thecam 14,211; the rear side of the disk 0, (see Fig. 3,) acts to moveoutward the carriage g to bring the cutting-off device on (see enlargedview, Fig. 9, shown as an edge or annulus about the upper end of thelengthgage) into line with the side of the rod 1", when the cam 15 actson the lever f to again lift the slide f and carriage until the portionon, for cutting off the rod 4', comes opposite that part of the rotatingrod where the latter is to be cut off, when the cam 15 holds the slidesteady in this position while the rod is being cut off. The edge of thecutter m or cutting-off device maybe more orless beveled or inclined tocut off the rod 1' in any usual way. As the slidefis being raised, asdescribed, to bring the cutting portion at into operative position thecam 16 at the rear of the disk 0 acts on the belt-shipper, as in Fig. 7,and moves the belts back into the position Fig. 1 to again rotate therod in its original or forward direction. The cutter m having arrivedinto proper position to cut the rod, the cam 18, at the rear of the disk0, strikes the roller g and moves the carriage outward, causing the saidcutter to enter and cut off the rotating rod '1'. The screw having beencutoff, the carriage g is moved outward far enough to place the centralpart of the length-gage under the rod 1", when the chuck is loosened bywithdrawing the wedge c, and the rod is left free to move down andfollow the length-gage, carriage, and slide as they are again lowered,as first described, into the position Fig. at.

I am aware that machines are now in operation for the automaticproduction of screws from a rod. By moving the slide diagonally upwardand the carriage diagonally outward at right angles to the movement ofthe slide I am enabled to secure a very simple organization of parts,which may be built and run at the least possible expenseand at rapidspeed.

I have herein described and shown a chuck to rotate and release the rod,a longitudinallymoving slide, cams for actuating the same, atool-holding carriage fitted in guideways on said slide, and mechanismfor automatically moving said carriagetransversely to bring the severaltools successively into line with the axis of the chuck, and I have alsoshown and described, in combination with said chuck, slide, andtool-holder, milling and threading tools, and a length-gage; but such Ido not claim broadly, as they form the subject-matter of anotherapplication.

I am aware that it is not new to feed the rod 1' forward through a'chuck, and also that the rod has been fed forward by means of a weightconnected by means of a cord with a follower placed against one end ofthe rod.

I claim 1. The improved rod-rotating chuck herein described, itcomprehending the hollow shaft A, open from end to end, thejaws apivoted thereon, the independent longitudinally-adjustable splitspring-chuck, and the longitudinally-movable hollow wedge open from endto end and titted within the shaft A and supporting the rod to be cut,the said wedge operatin g the said levers and permitting the rodinserted at one end of it to be delivered there from at its otheren d,all substantially asshown and described.

2. The rotating chuck-carrying shaft A, set at an incline to receive therod r and render it self-feeding by reason of its own gravity, and thechuck to grasp and rotate the rod and slide and tool-carrying carriagethereon, combined with the length-gage secured to the said carriage, andupon which the end of the rod is dropped by its own gravity whenreleased from the chuck, and with mechanism for operating the saidcarriage and slide, substantially as described.

3. The rotating chuck-carrying shaft A, set at an incline to receive therod 1' and render it self-feedin g, and the chuck to grasp and rotatethe rod, and the slide and the tool-carrying carriage thereon, combinedwith thelengthgage secured to the said carriage, and upon which the endof the rod is dropped by its own gravity when released from the chuck,and with the disk, cams thereon, and the lever to actuate the slide andforce the rod back into and to be grasped by the chuck, substantially asdescribed.

4. The rotating chuck-carrying hollow spindle A, its fast pulley, andtwo loose pulleys, d e, the worm-shaft 0 connected with and driven fromone of the said loose pulleys, and the disk 0, its cams 16 and 12, andthe belt-shipper, all combined and arranged substantially as and for thepurpose described.

5. The rotating hollow shaft A, the tubular wedge 0 fitted therein,the'jaw-levers a pivoted on the shaft A, the split chuck a, the retatingshaft 0 and disk 0, engaged and driven by it, provided with the cams 1and 4, combined with the lever c to operate the said wedge, the saidhollow shaft and chuck being placed at an inclination from a horizontalplane to enable the rod to be fed forward by gravity alone, allsubstantially as shown and described.

6. In a metal-screw-cutting machine, the rotating hollow shaft and chuckto grasp and rotate a rod, the tool-carrying carriage 7 having a millingor reducing tool and a threadingtool, and made movable in a plane atright angles to the said hollow shaft, and the reciprocating slide f, tomove the tool-carryin g carriage parallel with the said hollow shaft andtoward and from the end of the rod held by the chuck, combined with thesingle rotating Its disk 0, having its axis at right angles to the Intestimony whereofIhave signed myname axis of the rotating hollow shaft,and a series to this specification in the presence of two sub- 10 ot'cams, substantially as described, carried scribing Witnesses.

b the smd dlSiL the stud canis being ildilpled CHARLES F- ROPE.

at the proper time to efleot the grasping and rel asing of the rod andthe movement of Witnesses:

the slide and its carriage, substantially as set G. \V. GREGORY,

forth. i 13. J. NOYES.

